Personal Care System and Method

ABSTRACT

In one embodiment, a personal care appliance includes an electric motor having a drive shaft. In response to a voltage signal, the drive shaft is oscillated in an oscillatory motion having an oscillation amplitude. A control circuit includes, in operable cooperation, a user interface, a processor, a pulse width modulation signal generator, and a power source. The control circuit supplies the voltage signal to the electric motor, the voltage signal having a frequency and a duty cycle. The control circuit varies the frequency and the duty cycle of the voltage signal in response to an oscillation adjustment input received from the user interface so that the oscillation amplitude of the drive shaft is varied along a substantially linear rate of change profile relative to the frequency.

BACKGROUND

Electric toothbrushes are well known from moving a brush head or itscomponents to promote teeth cleaning. Some such toothbrushes move thebrush head in an oscillating motion. There is need, however, for anelectric toothbrush having an oscillating motion that can adjustsmoothly and continuously from one intensity to another without steps orjumping in the oscillation.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The present invention is directed to a personal care appliance and amethod for controlling same. In one aspect, a personal care applianceincludes an electric motor having a drive shaft, the electric motorconfigured to, in response to a voltage signal, oscillate the driveshaft in an oscillatory motion having an oscillation amplitude; and acontrol circuit comprising, in operable cooperation, a user interface, aprocessor, a pulse width modulation signal generator, and a powersource, the control circuit operably coupled to the electric motor andconfigured to supply the voltage signal to the electric motor, thevoltage signal having a frequency and a duty cycle, the control circuitconfigured to vary the frequency and the duty cycle of the voltagesignal in response to an oscillation adjustment input received from theuser interface so that the oscillation amplitude of the drive shaft isvaried along a substantially linear rate of change profile relative tothe frequency.

In another aspect, a method of controlling a personal care appliancecomprising an electric motor having a drive shaft and a control circuitcomprising, in operable cooperation, a user interface, a processor, apulse width modulation signal generator, a memory unit, and a powersource, the control circuit operably coupled to the electric motor, isdisclosed. The method includes generating, with the control circuit, avoltage signal having a frequency and a duty cycle; supplying thevoltage signal to the electric motor to oscillate the drive shaft in anoscillatory motion having an oscillation amplitude; and the controlcircuit varying the frequency and the duty cycle of the voltage signalin response to an oscillation adjustment input received from the userinterface so that the oscillation amplitude of the drive shaft is variedalong a substantially linear rate of change profile relative to thefrequency.

In another aspect, a personal care appliance includes an electric motorhaving a drive shaft, the electric motor configured to, in response to avoltage signal, oscillate the drive shaft in an oscillatory motionhaving an oscillation amplitude; and a control circuit comprising, inoperable cooperation, a user interface, a pulse width modulation signalgenerator, a processor, a memory unit, and a power source, the controlcircuit operably coupled to the electric motor and configured to supplythe voltage signal to the electric motor, the voltage signal having afrequency and a duty cycle, the control circuit configured to operatethe electric motor in accordance with a selected one of the first modeor the second mode in response to a mode selection input from the userinterface; wherein when the first mode is selected, the frequency and/orthe duty cycle of the voltage signal is varied in response to anoscillation adjustment input received from the user interface so thatthe oscillation amplitude of the drive shaft is varied along a firstrate of change profile relative to the frequency in the first mode; andwherein when the second mode is selected, the frequency and/or the dutycycle of the voltage signal is varied in response to the oscillationadjustment input received from the user interface so that theoscillation amplitude of the drive shaft is varied along a second rateof change profile relative to the frequency in the second mode, thefirst and second rate of change profiles being different than oneanother.

In another aspect, a method of controlling a personal care appliancecomprising an electric motor having a drive shaft and a control circuitcomprising, in operable cooperation, a user interface, a processor, apulse width modulation signal generator, a memory unit, and a powersource, the control circuit operably coupled to the electric motor, isdisclosed. The method includes initiating a selected one of a first modeor a second mode in response to a mode selection input from the userinterface; generating, with the control circuit, a voltage signal havinga frequency and a duty cycle in accordance with the selected one of thefirst mode or the second mode; supplying the generated voltage signal tothe electric motor to oscillate the drive shaft in an oscillatory motionhaving an oscillation amplitude; and varying the frequency and/or theduty cycle of the generated voltage signal in response to an oscillationadjustment input received from the user interface so that theoscillation amplitude of the drive shaft is varied along a first rate ofchange profile relative to the frequency when in the first mode; andvarying the frequency and/or the duty cycle of the generated voltagesignal in response to the oscillation adjustment input received from theuser interface so that the oscillation amplitude of the drive shaft isvaried along a second rate of change profile relative to the frequencywhen in the second mode, the first and second rate of change profilesbeing different than one another.

Further areas of applicability of the present invention will becomeapparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It shouldbe understood that the detailed description and specific examples, whileindicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended forpurposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope ofthe invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from thedetailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGS. 1-2 are perspective views of a personal care appliance accordingto one embodiment.

FIGS. 3A-C are different views of a stem of the personal care applianceof FIGS. 1-2.

FIG. 4 is top view of a stem of the personal care appliance showing theoscillation amplitude for the stem according to one embodiment.

FIGS. 5-7 are views of a motor of the personal care appliance accordingto one embodiment.

FIG. 8 is block diagram of a control circuit for controlling theoscillation of a stem of a personal care appliance according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 9 shows graphs of voltage signals for oscillating a drive shaft ofa motor of a personal care appliance according to one embodiment.

FIG. 10 shows substantially linear rate of change profiles foroscillation amplitude relative to frequency for first and second modesaccording to one embodiment.

FIGS. 11-12 show non-linear rate of change profiles for duty cyclerelative to frequency for causing the substantially linear rate ofchange profiles for oscillation in FIG. 9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merelyexemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention,its application, or uses.

The description of illustrative embodiments according to principles ofthe present invention is intended to be read in connection with theaccompanying drawings, which are to be considered part of the entirewritten description. In the description of embodiments of the inventiondisclosed herein, any reference to direction or orientation is merelyintended for convenience of description and is not intended in any wayto limit the scope of the present invention. Relative terms such as“lower,” “upper,” “horizontal,” “vertical,” “above,” “below,” “up,”“down,” “top” and “bottom” as well as derivatives thereof (e.g.,“horizontally,” “downwardly,” “upwardly,” etc.) should be construed torefer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawingunder discussion. These relative terms are for convenience ofdescription only and do not require that the apparatus be constructed oroperated in a particular orientation unless explicitly indicated assuch. Terms such as “attached,” “affixed,” “connected,” “coupled,”“interconnected,” and similar refer to a relationship wherein structuresare secured or attached to one another either directly or indirectlythrough intervening structures, as well as both movable or rigidattachments or relationships, unless expressly described otherwise.Moreover, the features and benefits of the invention are illustrated byreference to the exemplified embodiments. Accordingly, the inventionexpressly should not be limited to such exemplary embodimentsillustrating some possible non-limiting combination of features that mayexist alone or in other combinations of features; the scope of theinvention being defined by the claims appended hereto.

As used throughout, ranges are used as shorthand for describing each andevery value that is within the range. Any value within the range can beselected as the terminus of the range. In addition, all references citedherein are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. In theevent of a conflict in a definition in the present disclosure and thatof a cited reference, the present disclosure controls.

In the following description, where circuits are shown and described,one of skill in the art will recognize that, for the sake of clarity,not all peripheral circuits or components are shown in the figures ordescribed in the description. Further, the terms “couple” and “operablycouple” can refer to a direct or indirect coupling of two components ofa circuit.

Features of the present inventions may be implemented in software,hardware, firmware, or combinations thereof. The computer programsdescribed herein are not limited to any particular embodiment, and maybe implemented in an operating system, application program, foregroundor background processes, driver, or any combination thereof. Thecomputer programs may be executed on a single computer or serverprocessor or multiple computer or server processors.

Processors described herein may be any central processing unit (CPU),microprocessor, micro-controller, computational, or programmable deviceor circuit configured for executing computer program instructions (e.g.,code). Various processors may be embodied in computer and/or serverhardware of any suitable type (e.g., desktop, laptop, notebook, tablets,cellular phones, etc.) and may include all the usual ancillarycomponents necessary to form a functional data processing deviceincluding without limitation a bus, software and data storage such asvolatile and non-volatile memory, input/output devices, graphical userinterfaces (GUIs), removable data storage, and wired and/or wirelesscommunication interface devices including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, LAN, etc.

Computer-executable instructions or programs (e.g., software or code)and data described herein may be programmed into and tangibly embodiedin a non-transitory computer-readable medium that is accessible to andretrievable by a respective processor as described herein whichconfigures and directs the processor to perform the desired functionsand processes by executing the instructions encoded in the medium. Adevice embodying a programmable processor configured to suchnon-transitory computer-executable instructions or programs may bereferred to as a “programmable device”, or “device”, and multipleprogrammable devices in mutual communication may be referred to as a“programmable system.” It should be noted that non-transitory“computer-readable medium” as described herein may include, withoutlimitation, any suitable volatile or non-volatile memory includingrandom access memory (RAM) and various types thereof, read-only memory(ROM) and various types thereof, USB flash memory, and magnetic oroptical data storage devices (e.g., internal/external hard disks, floppydiscs, magnetic tape CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, optical disk, ZIP™ drive, Blu-raydisk, and others), which may be written to and/or read by a processoroperably connected to the medium.

In certain embodiments, the present inventions may be embodied in theform of computer-implemented processes and apparatuses such asprocessor-based data processing and communication systems or computersystems for practicing those processes. The present inventions may alsobe embodied in the form of software or computer program code embodied ina non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, which when loadedinto and executed by the data processing and communications systems orcomputer systems, the computer program code segments configure theprocessor to create specific logic circuits configured for implementingthe processes.

Referring to FIGS. 1-2, an oral care implement 100 will be described inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In theexemplified embodiment, the oral care implement 100 is a powered orelectric toothbrush. In other embodiments, the oral care implement maybe a manual toothbrush. In still other embodiments, the oral careimplement 100 may be other hygienic tools for treating the oral cavitysuch as a tongue scraper, a gum and soft tissue cleanser, a water pick,an interdental device, a tooth polisher, a specially designed ansateimplement having tooth engaging elements, or any other type of implementthat is commonly used for oral care. In still other embodiments, theoral care implement 100 may be a personal care appliance instead of anoral care implement. Examples of such personal care appliances includehairbrushes, razors, body scrubbers, skin treatment devices, or thelike. The oral care implement 100 generally comprises a handle 200 and aworkpiece 300, which in this embodiment is an oral care refill head 300.It is to be understood that the inventive concepts discussed herein canbe applied to any type of oral care implement or personal care implementunless a specific type of implement is specified in the claims. Thestructural and functional details of the oral care implement 100 will beprovided below in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention.

The handle 200 is the portion of the oral care implement 100 that isgripped by a user during use. The oral care refill head 300 is theportion of the oral care implement 100 that performs the cleaning orother hygienic function. The oral care refill head 300 can be detachedfrom the handle 200, and thus when they are coupled the oral care refillhead 300 is detachably coupled to the handle 200. Thus, the oral carerefill head 300 may be detached from the handle 200 and replaced with anew oral care refill head 300 when cleaning elements on the oral carerefill head 300 become worn over time. This allows the handle 200 tocontinue to be used while the oral care refill head 300 is exchanged,which is important because the expensive electronic circuitry is locatedwithin the handle 200. Multiple users can also use the same handle 200while placing their individual oral care refill heads thereon prior touse.

The handle 200 comprises a gripping portion 210 that terminates at adistal end surface 211 and a stem 250 protruding from the distal endsurface 211 of the gripping portion 210. The gripping portion 210 is thepart of the handle 200 that is gripped by a user during oral hygieneactivities and it may include various buttons, switches, indicators,lights, user controls, or the like to both allow a user to controlfunctionality and operation of the oral care implement 100 and alsoprovide information to the user. For example, the handle 200 maycomprise a power button 201 that can power the oral care implement 100on and off (and provide power to a motor thereof as described in moredetail below).

The handle 200 may also include a user interface 202 for altering theintensity of brushing. In the exemplified user interface, a mode button202C allows the user to change from one intensity mode to another. Inthe exemplified embodiment, the intensity modes comprise a first mode(e.g., a low intensity mode) and a second mode (e.g., a high intensitymode), and a user may switch between modes by selecting the mode button202C. Further, a user may increase or decrease the intensity within agiven mode by selecting buttons 202A and 202B, respectively. Theinvention, however, is not so limited. Any number of modes may be used(e.g., low, medium, and high modes). Further, the mode button 202C maybe eliminated and the mode may be changed by alternate means, such as bypressing (quickly or for a long period of time) one or more of the powerbutton 201 and buttons 202A, 202B. For example, the mode may be changedby holding or quickly pressing the power button 201, or by pressingbuttons 202A, 202B at the same time, or by pressing one of the buttons202A, 202B quickly or slowly. In other embodiments, pressing the upbutton 202A repeatedly will cause a brush in a low mode to increase itsbrushing intensity in the low mode until it enters a higher mode, andcontinued pressing of the up button 202A would increase the intensity inthe higher mode. Similarly, pressing the down button 202B repeatedlywill cause a brush in a high mode to decrease its brushing intensity inthe high mode until it enters a lower mode, and continued pressing ofthe down button 202B would decrease the intensity in the lower mode.Note that the user interface is not limited to the buttons shown inFIG. 1. It may comprise any type of interface, such as a button, dial,or screen. In yet other embodiments, the implement 100 may wirelesslycommunicate with an electronic device, such as a smartphone. Forexample, the user interface may be a touchscreen or another interface ofthe electronic device. In yet other embodiments, the mode may be alteredby sensing a shaking or other movement of the brush.

The handle 200 may also include various indicators 203 that may beactivated (e.g., lights that may be illuminated) to inform a user whenthe battery is low, when the user is brushing with too much pressure,when the oral care implement 100 is powered on, and various otherinformation that may be helpful to a user.

As noted above, the exemplified handle 200 houses the electroniccomponents associated with the oral care implement 100. The exemplifiedgripping portion 210 of the handle 200 houses a motor 130 and controlcircuit 150 discussed in detail below (see FIGS. 5-7). The stem 250 isoperably coupled to the motor 130 and may form a portion of a driveshaft of the motor 130 or the stem 250 may be operably coupled to adrive shaft of the motor 130. For example, the stem 250 may form adistal portion of the drive shaft of the motor 130. In some embodiments,the stem 250 may be a plastic housing or the like that surrounds thedrive shaft of the motor 130 with the plastic housing that surrounds thedrive shaft forming the coupling between the handle 200 and the oralcare refill head 300. In the exemplified embodiment, the stem 250 isoperably coupled to the motor 130 and due to that coupling, uponactivating the motor 130 by powering on the oral care implement 100, themotor's drive shaft will impart movement to the stem 250 thereby causingthe stem 250 to rotate, oscillate, or the like.

FIGS. 3A-C and 4 show the stem separate from the implement 100. FIG. 4shows the oscillation of the distal end 252 of the stem 250. Therotation about point C causes the stem to have a swing angle 250A. Thisswing or rotation is a type of oscillation whose swing angle is a typeof oscillation amplitude. The invention, however, is not so limited. Inother embodiments, the oscillation amplitude may be a magnitude of adifferent type of oscillating movement, such as a back-and-forthnon-rotational movement.

Returning to the exemplified embodiment, when the oral care refill head300 is coupled to the handle 200, the oscillation of the stem 250 willcause oscillation of the oral care refill head 300, or at least thecleaning elements thereof, to optimize the cleaning performance. Thestem 250 forms the feature of the handle 200 that couples to the oralcare refill head 300 and also imparts movement to the cleaning elementsof the oral care refill head 300.

As discussed in further detail in FIG. 8, there is a control circuit 150in the handle 200. In the exemplified embodiment, the control circuit150 comprises a printed circuit board (not shown) having severalelectronic components thereon in electrical communication with oneanother. The control circuit 150 may further include components locatedelsewhere. For example, the control circuit 150 may comprise or be incommunication with the user interface 202 for adjusting the oscillationamplitude and power button 201. The intensity button 202C may be inoperable coupling with the control circuit 150 so that pressing theintensity button 202C causes a change in the mode (e.g., from a lowintensity mode to a high intensity mode). Further, the buttons 202A,202B may be in operable communication with the control circuit so thatpressing them causes a gradual increase or decrease in the motorintensity or speed. As discussed above, in other embodiments, the modecan be switched by other means.

The indicators 203 may be formed by transparent portions of the handle200 that are aligned with light sources of the control circuit 150 thatilluminate when different thresholds are met. For example, when thebattery power is below a threshold, a low battery light may illuminateand be seen through a transparent portion of the handle 200 (such as anicon that is readily identifiable as a battery power indicator).Furthermore, when excessive pressure is felt during brushing, a highpressure light may illuminate. Of course, other indicators 203 may beused to provide different indications to a user as desired. The controlcircuit 150 may comprise a controller or processor that receives inputfrom the various actuators and transmits instructions to the powersource 130, motor 140, and various light sources to activate anddeactivate accordingly. However, a processor or controller is not neededin all embodiments and in other embodiments activating and deactivatingthe various actuators opens and closes a switch which either causespower to be supplied to or prevents power from being supplied to thevarious components for activation and deactivation thereof. The variousactuators that may form part of the control circuit 150 may be variousswitches including trigger switches, contact switches, conductiveswitches, throw switches, push button switches, pressure switches,toggle switches, or other mechanical type switches. In other embodimentselectronic switches could be used in place of the mechanical typeswitches.

Turning again to FIGS. 1 and 2, the oral care refill head 300 comprisesa head portion 310 and an attachment portion 320. The head portion 310comprises an oral treatment tool (or head structure) 311 having a frontsurface 312 and a rear surface 313. Furthermore, the head portion 310comprises a plurality of tooth cleaning elements 314 extending from thefront surface 312 of the oral treatment tool 311. The plurality of toothcleaning elements 314 may comprise bristle tufts, filament bristles,fiber bristles, nylon bristles, polybutylene terephthalate (PBT)bristles, spiral bristles, rubber bristles, elastomeric protrusions,flexible polymer protrusions, lamella, combinations thereof, and/orstructures containing such materials or combinations. Thus, anycombination of these elements may be used to form one or more of thetooth cleaning elements 314 in some embodiments. Furthermore, wherebristles are used for one or more of the tooth cleaning elements 314,such bristles can be tapered, end-rounded, spiral, or the like. Thetooth cleaning elements 314 may be coupled to the head portion 310 usingany known techniques such as staples, anchor-free tufting, in-moldtufting, PTT, or the like. In the exemplified embodiment, the toothcleaning elements 314 comprises a plurality of tufts of bristlesarranged in a particular pattern on the head portion 310. Of course, theparticular pattern of the tooth cleaning elements 314 is not to belimiting of the present invention unless specifically claimed as such.

Furthermore, in the exemplified embodiment there is a soft tissuecleaner 315 positioned on the rear surface 313 of the head portion 310of the oral care refill head 300. The soft tissue cleaner 315 may be anelastomeric material such as thermoplastic elastomer that is injectionmolded onto the rear surface 313 of the head portion 310. The softtissue cleaner 315 may include a pad portion 316 and a plurality ofprotuberances 317 protruding from the pad portion 316 (see FIG. 3 forbest illustration of pad portion 316 and protuberances 317).Alternatively, the soft tissue cleaner 315 may include ridges,depressions, nubs, or any desirable feature for cleaning and/or scrapingthe tongue and its papillae.

Referring to FIGS. 3A-C, the stem 250 as well as its interaction withvarious components of the oral care refill head 300 will be described.The exemplified stem 250 comprises a proximal stem section 253 that islocated within the interior of the gripping section 210 of the handle200 when the stem 250 is coupled to the handle 200, a base stem section254, and a distal stem section 255. The proximal stem section 253 mayform the drive shaft of the motor 140 in some embodiments. In otherembodiments, stem 250 may comprise only the base stem section 254 andthe distal stem section 255, which form a distal portion of a driveshaft of the motor 140 with the remainder of the drive shaft of themotor 140 being formed by the proximal stem section 253. The base stemsection 254 is located between the proximal stem section 253 and thedistal stem section 255. As noted above, the proximal stem section 253is located within the interior of the handle 200, the base stem section254 protrudes from and is adjacent to the gripping portion 210 of thehandle 200, and the distal stem section 255 extends from the base stemsection 254 to the distal end 252. In some embodiments, the stem 250 maycomprise only the portions thereof that extend from the distal endsurface 211 of the gripping portion 210 of the handle 200 (i.e., thebase stem section 254 and the distal stem section 255).

The stem 250 comprises an annular groove 256 located in the proximalstem section 253. The annular groove 256 is configured to mate with amember of the handle 200. The stem 250 also comprises a lockingdepression 257 located along the base stem section 254 of the stem 250for engaging the refill head 300. In the exemplified embodiment, thelocking depression 257 is an annular depression 257 that extends aroundthe entire circumference of the stem 250. Thus, the locking depression257 extends 360 degrees around the stem 250. However, in otherembodiments the locking depression 257 may extend along a part but notthe entirety of the circumference of the stem 250. In the exemplifiedembodiment, the locking depression 257 has a V-shaped cross-section,although the invention is not to be so limited in all embodiments andthe cross-sectional shape of the locking depression 257 could bemodified so long as it is configured to matingly engage the refill head300. The exemplified stem 250 is configured for detachable coupling tothe refill head 300.

The distal stem section 255 of the stem 250 comprises a first radialplanar shoulder 260 located on a first side of the stem axis C-C and asecond radial planar shoulder 261 located on a second side of the stemaxis C-C that is opposite the first side of the stem axis C-C. Thedistal stem section 255 of the stem 250 further comprises a first planarsurface 262 extending from the first radial planar shoulder 260 to thedistal end 252 and a second planar surface 263 extending from the secondradial planar shoulder 261 to the distal end 252. The first planarsurface 262 and the first radial planar shoulder 260 are located on afirst side of the stem axis C-C and the second planar surface 263 andthe second radial planar shoulder 261 are located on a second side ofthe stem axis C-C. The first and second planar surfaces 262, 263 areoriented substantially parallel to one another and to the stem axis C-C.(the term substantially allowing for a range of plus or minus 5°). Insome embodiments, the first and second planar surfaces 262, 263 may beexactly parallel to one another and to the stem axis C-C. The first andsecond planar surfaces 262, 263 are flat faces on the stem 250 which isotherwise round. Thus, the portions of the outer surface of the stem 250between the first and second planar surfaces 262, 263 along the distalstem section 255 are round or arcuate.

The first and second radial planar shoulders 260, 261 are aligned alongthe stem axis C-C. Thus, there is no transverse axis (orientedperpendicular to the stem axis C-C) that would intersect any part of thefirst radial planar shoulder 260 and also intersect a part of the secondradial planar shoulder 261. Rather, the first and second radial planarshoulders 260, 261 are located at entirely different axial heights alongthe stem 250. Stated another way, the first radial planar shoulder 260extends from a first end 264 to a second end 265, the first end 264being closer to the proximal end 251 than the second end 265. The secondradial planar shoulder 261 extends from a first end 266 to a second end267, the first end 266 being closer to the proximal end 251 than thesecond end 267. The second end 265 of the first radial planar shoulder260 is located closer to the proximal end 251 of the stem 250 than thefirst end 266 of the second radial planar shoulder 261 (or, the firstend 266 of the second radial planar shoulder 261 is located closer tothe distal end 252 of the stem 250 than the second end 265 of the firstradial planar shoulder 260).

FIGS. 5-7 show a motor 130 and its components according to oneembodiment. The exemplified motor 130 utilizes an electromagnetic coiland permanent magnets coupled to the drive shaft as the rotor. While abrief description of the motor 130 is provided below, U.S. Pub. No.2018263743 is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety forfurther information on the exemplified motor. The invention is notlimited to the exemplified motor, however, as other types of motors maybe utilized to carry out the invention.

The exemplified motor 130 includes a motor housing 131, a stator core132 having at least two poles fixedly installed in the stator housing131 symmetrically, an electromagnetic coil 133 wound around the statorcore 132, and an insulating coil holder 134 for insulating the statorcore 132 from the coil winding 133. The motor 130 further includes atleast two pairs of permanent magnets 135 cooperating with the statorcore 132. The permanent magnets 135 are all fixedly connected to aperiphery of a shaft coupling 136, and the shaft coupling 136 is fixedlyconnected to a drive shaft 137. When the motor 130 is activated by avoltage signal, the coil winding 133 is electrified to generate amagnetic field at the stator core 132, the magnetic field drives thepermanent magnets 135 to drive the shaft coupling 136 to rotate, and inturn the motor shaft 137 is driven to move. The angle of rotation 250Aof the drive shaft is shown in FIG. 4, and is a type of oscillationamplitude. The charge of the coil windings 133 are alternated, therebycausing an oscillatory rotation of the motor shaft 137 through the swingangle. The exemplified motor 130 does not include any spring elements tocreate a bias on the motor shaft 137. Rather, the oscillatory movementof the motor shaft 137 is entirely created by alternating the polarityof the magnetic field generated by the coil windings 133. As will bediscussed in further detail below with respect to FIGS. 8-9, in theexemplified embodiment the coil is energized by a first voltage signalV1 at a first motor terminal 130-1 of the coil 133 and a second voltagesignal V2 at a second motor terminal 130-2 of the coil causing aresulting voltage 406 across the terminals 130-1, 130-2 that alternatesbetween positive and negative voltage, thus causing the oscillation ofthe drive shaft. The motor 130 further includes end cap 138 and ballbearing 139.

FIG. 8 is block diagram of a control circuit 150 for controlling theoscillation of a stem of a personal care appliance according to oneembodiment. The control circuit is designed to be coupled to the motorterminals 130-1, 130-2 as discussed above to energize theelectromagnetic coil 133 by one or more voltage signals. The exemplifiedcontrol unit 150 includes a motor driver 152 for driving the coil 133through the motor terminals 130-1, 130-2. The motor driver outputsvoltages V1 and V2, which are coupled to the terminals 130-1, 130-2,respectively. The motor driver is coupled to a power source 140. In theexemplified embodiment, the power source is a 3.5V battery rechargeableby induction, though the invention is not limited to a particular typeof power source. The motor driver 152 receives pulse width modulatedsignals PWM-1 and PWM-2 from a processor 151 that includes a pulse widthmodulation signal generator. Pulse width modulation is well known, andtherefore not described here in detail Any type of pulse widthmodulation may be used, and it other embodiments the voltage signal neednot be pulse width modulated. Further, the pulse width modulation may bealtered by an input received at the user interface 202, such as the userinterface 202 in FIG. 1 where a user may change the intensity within agiven mode and/or may switch between a high intensity mode and a lowintensity mode. The processor 151 is configured to receive the inputfrom the user interface 202 and alter the pulse width modulated signalsas necessary to alter the brushing intensity as desired by the user.

FIG. 9 shows graphs of voltage signals for oscillating a drive shaft ofa motor of a personal care appliance according to one embodiment.Waveform 402 represents the first PWM signal PWM-1 that is provided tothe motor driver 152. Waveform 404 represents the second PWM signalPWM-2 that is provided to the motor driver 152. In this embodiment, eachPWM signal has a low of 0V and a high of 2.5V, and the duty cycle is80%, though the invention is not so limited. By alternating the on timefor the respective signals, the output of the motor driver 152 isenabled to rotate the drive shaft in opposing clockwise andcounterclockwise directions. Due to the output of the motor driver 152in V1 and V2 (see FIG. 8), the resulting voltage across the motorterminals 130-1, 130-2 is shown by waveform 406. The positive portion ofthe waveform 406 represents the rotation of the drive shaft in onedirection, while the negative portion of the waveform represents therotation of the drive shaft in the opposite direction. The voltageacross the motor terminals in a working cycle is about 3.5V DC. Thewaveforms shown in FIG. 9 are only examples, and a variety of differentvoltage signals could be used to oscillate the motor.

FIG. 10 shows substantially linear rate of change profiles 408, 410 foroscillation amplitude relative to frequency for first and second modesaccording to one embodiment. As stated above, in changing the brushingintensity of the implement, such as the oscillation amplitude, there isa desire that the transition is smooth and continuous without steps orjumping. To accomplish this, the control circuit must vary the frequencyand/or the duty cycle of voltage signal received by the electric motorsuch that the oscillation amplitude of the drive shaft is varied along asubstantially linear rate of change profile relative to the frequency.As used herein, the term “substantially linear” shall mean that theprofile is within an area of plus or minus 5% from a trend line. FIG. 10shows such linear rate of change profiles 408, 410. Specifically,profile 408 is a substantially linear rate of change profile for a firstmode (e.g., a low intensity mode), and profile 410 is a substantiallylinear rate of change profile for a second mode (e.g., a high intensitymode). In this example, the first rate of change profile 408 has a firstslope and the second rate of change profile 410 has a second slope thatis different from the first slope. Similarly, the first and second rateof change profiles 408, 410 have different average rates of change(e.g., when the profile is not linear). It is noted that invention isnot so limited. Further, while FIG. 10 shows only two modes (high andlow), in other embodiments there may be more than two modes. Further,there may alternately be a single mode having a single substantiallylinear rate of change profile.

The exemplified first rate of change profile 408 has (i) a firststarting point 408A corresponding to a first minimum frequency (shown inHertz) and a first minimum oscillation amplitude (shown in degrees ofswing angle) for the first mode, and (ii) a first endpoint 408Bcorresponding to a first maximum frequency and a first maximumoscillation amplitude for the first mode. Similarly, the exemplifiedsecond rate of change profile 410 has (i) a second starting point 410Acorresponding to a second minimum frequency and a second minimumoscillation amplitude for the second mode, and (ii) a second endpoint410B corresponding to a second maximum frequency and a second maximumoscillation amplitude for the second mode. In the exemplifiedembodiment, the second minimum frequency is greater than the firstmaximum frequency, and the second minimum oscillation amplitude isgreater than the first maximum oscillation amplitude. Further, thedifference between the first maximum oscillation amplitude and the firstminimum oscillation amplitude is less than a difference between thesecond maximum oscillation amplitude and the second minimum oscillationamplitude. The invention, however, is not limited to the foregoingfeatures. For example, the profiles may have alternative starting andending points, and need not be linear.

FIGS. 11-12 shows that, to achieve the substantially linear rate ofchange profiles of FIG. 10, the control circuit can use non-linear rateof change profiles for duty cycle relative to frequency. FIG. 11 shows anon-linear rate of change profile 412 for the first mode. By alteringduty cycle with respect to frequency according to this non-linearprofile 412 for the first mode when altering the oscillation amplitude,the oscillation amplitude is able to change with frequency according thesubstantially linear profile 408 shown in FIG. 10. Similarly, byaltering duty cycle with respect to frequency according to non-linearprofile 420 for the second mode when altering the oscillation amplitude,the oscillation amplitude is able to change with frequency according thesubstantially linear profile 410 shown in FIG. 10. As shown in FIG. 11,and corresponding with first mode profile 408 of FIG. 10, the non-linearprofile 412 begins at a 5.5 degrees oscillation and ends at 12.5 degreesoscillation. Similarly, in FIG. 12, corresponding with second modeprofile 410 of FIG. 10, the non-linear profile 420 begins at 16.2degrees oscillation and ends at 27.2 degrees oscillation.

As shown in FIG. 11, the non-linear rate of change profile 412 comprises(1) a first section 414 corresponding to a first range of the frequency;(2) a second section 416 corresponding to a second range of thefrequency; and (3) a third section 418 corresponding to a third range ofthe frequency, the second range of the frequency located between thefirst and third ranges of the frequency and greater than the first rangeof the frequency. The first section 414 of the non-linear rate of changeprofile 412 has an average rate of change that is less than an averagerate of change of the third section 418.

As shown in FIG. 12, the non-linear rate of change profile 420 similarlycomprises (1) a first section 422 corresponding to a first range of thefrequency; (2) a second section 424 corresponding to a second range ofthe frequency; and (3) a third section 426 corresponding to a thirdrange of the frequency, the second range of the frequency locatedbetween the first and third ranges of the frequency and greater than thefirst range of the frequency. By contrast to FIG. 11, however, the firstsection 422 of the non-linear rate of change profile 420 has an averagerate of change that is greater than an average rate of change of thethird section 426. For both FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 (both first and secondmodes), however, the second section 416, 424 of the non-linear rate ofchange profile 412, 420 has an average rate of change that is betweenthe average rate of change of the third section and the average rate ofchange of the first section. Note that the invention is not limited tothe rate of change profiles shown in FIGS. 10-12, as various otherfrequencies, duty cycles, and oscillation amplitudes may be used takingdifferent waveforms of different rates of change.

While the invention has been described as a system or apparatus, it mayalso be embodied as a method. In one embodiment, a method of controllinga personal care appliance comprising an electric motor having a driveshaft and a control circuit comprising, in operable cooperation, a userinterface, a processor, a pulse width modulation signal generator, amemory unit, and a power source, the control circuit operably coupled tothe electric motor, is disclosed. The method comprises generating, withthe control circuit, a voltage signal having a frequency and a dutycycle; supplying the voltage signal to the electric motor to oscillatethe drive shaft in an oscillatory motion having an oscillationamplitude; and the control circuit varying the frequency and the dutycycle of the voltage signal in response to an oscillation adjustmentinput received from the user interface so that the oscillation amplitudeof the drive shaft is varied along a substantially linear rate of changeprofile relative to the frequency.

In another embodiment, a method of controlling a personal care appliancecomprising an electric motor having a drive shaft and a control circuitcomprising, in operable cooperation, a user interface, a processor, apulse width modulation signal generator, a memory unit, and a powersource, the control circuit operably coupled to the electric motor, isdisclosed. The method comprises initiating a selected one of a firstmode or a second mode in response to a mode selection input from theuser interface; generating, with the control circuit, a voltage signalhaving a frequency and a duty cycle in accordance with the selected oneof the first mode or the second mode; supplying the generated voltagesignal to the electric motor to oscillate the drive shaft in anoscillatory motion having an oscillation amplitude; and varying thefrequency and/or the duty cycle of the generated voltage signal inresponse to an oscillation adjustment input received from the userinterface so that the oscillation amplitude of the drive shaft is variedalong a first rate of change profile relative to the frequency when inthe first mode; and varying the frequency and/or the duty cycle of thegenerated voltage signal in response to the oscillation adjustment inputreceived from the user interface so that the oscillation amplitude ofthe drive shaft is varied along a second rate of change profile relativeto the frequency when in the second mode, the first and second rate ofchange profiles being different than one another.

In yet another embodiment, a toothbrush may include a mode that combinestwo or more other modes. In one embodiment, the toothbrush has fourselectable modes, a low intensity mode, a medium intensity mode, a highintensity mode, and a combination mode. In the combination mode, thetoothbrush automatically cycles through each of the low, medium, andhigh intensity modes without further input from the user. In anotherembodiment, one of the selectable modes in a pulsing mode in which themotor's power rapidly increases and then decreases, and in thecombination mode the toothbrush cycles through the non-pulsing modes andthe pulsing mode. Though as discussed below, the invention is notlimited to a particular combination of modes.

Stated broadly, the invention may be understood as a toothbrushcomprising a toothbrush head; an electric motor coupled to a powersource, the electric motor comprising a drive shaft and configured to,in response to a voltage signal, impart a motion upon the drive shaft; ahandle comprising a stem operably coupled to the toothbrush head and thedrive shaft, wherein the motion of the drive shaft is imparted to thestem, and the stem imparts the motion to the refill toothbrush head; auser interface for receiving from a user a selection from among aplurality of modes, the plurality of modes comprising a first modehaving a first operating characteristic of the motor; a second modehaving a second operating characteristic of the motor different from thefirst operating characteristic; and a third mode in which the motorautomatically transitions from one of the first mode and the second modeto the other of the first mode and the second mode without further userinput; and a processor operably coupled to the user interface and themotor, the processor configured to alter the voltage signal supplied tothe motor based on which of the plurality of modes is selected.

In one embodiment, the operating characteristics are different powerssupplied to the motor. In this embodiment, the first operatingcharacteristic comprises a first power supplied to the motor, and thesecond operating characteristic comprises a second power supplied to themotor, the first power being different from the second power. Additionalmodes could have additional different powers. The operatingcharacteristics could alternatively (or in addition) be a frequency ofthe oscillation of the motor. In this embodiment, the first operatingcharacteristic would comprise a first frequency of the oscillation ofthe motor, and the second operating characteristic would comprise asecond frequency of the oscillation of the motor, the first frequencybeing different from the second frequency. An operating characteristiccould also include characteristics of a pulsing of the motor, thepulsing causing a power supplied to the motor to repeatedly increase andthen decrease. For example, in a combination mode the toothbrush couldautomatically cycle through pulsing modes of different intensities. Inother embodiments, in a combination mode the toothbrush could cyclethough between one or more pulsing modes and one or more non-pulsingmodes. In one embodiment, at least one of the first operatingcharacteristic and the second operating characteristic comprises apulsing of the motor wherein a power supplied to the motor repeatedlyincreases and then decreases. In another embodiment, there are two ormore non-pulsing modes (e.g., a first mode and a second modes, acombination mode (e.g., a third mode), and a pulsing mode (e.g., afourth mode). In the combination mode the motor automaticallytransitions to each of the first (non-pulsing) mode, the second(non-pulsing) mode, and the fourth (pulsing) mode without further userinput. The transitioning between the different modes (pulsing andnon-pulsing) can occur in any order. Further, there can be any number ofpulsing and non-pulsing modes.

The components of the toothbrush may have any of the features discussedherein. For example, the toothbrush head may be a refill toothbrushhead. Further, the motor may form part of the handle, and the stem maybe configured for detachable coupling with the toothbrush head. Further,while in the first mode or the second mode, a control circuit may altera frequency and/or a duty cycle of the voltage signal in response to anoscillation adjustment input received from the user interface so that anoscillation amplitude of the drive shaft is varied along a substantiallylinear rate of change profile relative to the frequency by any of themethods described herein.

Further, the toothbrush may be used as part of a method for controllingan electric toothbrush, the method comprising receiving from the user,by the user interface, a selection of a combination mode (sometimesreferred to as a “third mode”) from a plurality of modes, the pluralityof modes comprising a first mode having a first operating characteristicof the motor; a second mode having a second operating characteristic ofthe motor; and the combination mode. Upon receiving the selection of thethird mode, the voltage signal supplied to the motor is altered toautomatically cycle the motor from one of the first mode and the secondmode to the other of the first mode and the second mode without furtheruser input.

While the inventions have been described with respect to specificexamples including presently preferred modes of carrying out theinvention, those skilled in the art will appreciate that there arenumerous variations and permutations of the above described systems andtechniques. It is to be understood that other embodiments may beutilized and structural and functional modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the present inventions. Thus, the spirit andscope of the inventions should be construed broadly as set forth in theappended claims.

1. A personal care appliance comprising: an electric motor having adrive shaft, the electric motor configured to, in response to a voltagesignal, oscillate the drive shaft in an oscillatory motion having anoscillation amplitude; and a control circuit comprising, in operablecooperation, a user interface, a processor, a pulse width modulationsignal generator, and a power source, the control circuit operablycoupled to the electric motor and configured to supply the voltagesignal to the electric motor, the voltage signal having a frequency anda duty cycle, the control circuit configured to vary the frequency andthe duty cycle of the voltage signal in response to an oscillationadjustment input received from the user interface so that theoscillation amplitude of the drive shaft is varied along a substantiallylinear rate of change profile relative to the frequency.
 2. The personalcare appliance according to claim 1 wherein the controller is configuredto vary the duty cycle of the voltage signal along a non-linear rate ofchange profile relative to the frequency of the voltage signal whenvarying the oscillation amplitude of the drive shaft along thesubstantially linear rate of change profile.
 3. The personal careappliance according to claim 2 wherein the non-linear rate of changeprofile comprises: (1) a first section corresponding to a first range ofthe frequency; (2) a second section corresponding to a second range ofthe frequency; and (3) a third section corresponding to a third range ofthe frequency, the second range of the frequency located between thefirst and third ranges of the frequency and greater than the first rangeof the frequency; and wherein the first section of the non-linear rateof change profile has an average rate of change that is less than anaverage rate of change of the third section.
 4. The personal careappliance according to claim 2 wherein the non-linear rate of changeprofile comprises: (1) a first section corresponding to a first range ofthe frequency; (2) a second section corresponding to a second range ofthe frequency; and (3) a third section corresponding to a third range ofthe frequency, the second range of the frequency located between thefirst and third ranges of the frequency and greater than the first rangeof the frequency; and wherein the first section of the non-linear rateof change profile has an average rate of change that is greater than anaverage rate of change of the third section.
 5. The personal careappliance according to claim 1 wherein the second section of thenon-linear rate of change profile has an average rate of change that isbetween the average rate of change of the third section and the averagerate of change of the first section.
 6. (canceled)
 7. (canceled) 8.(canceled)
 9. The personal care appliance according to claim 1 furthercomprising: a workpiece; and a handle comprising a gripping portionhaving a distal end and a stem protruding from the distal end, the stemoperably coupled to the drive shaft so that the oscillatory motion ofthe drive shaft is imparted to the stem, the stem configured fordetachable coupling with the workpiece, wherein the stem imparts theoscillatory motion to the workpiece.
 10. The personal care applianceaccording to claim 9 wherein the workpiece is a refill toothbrush head.11. The personal care appliance according to claim 1: wherein the userinterface is configured to receive from a user a selection from among aplurality of modes, the plurality of modes comprising: a first modehaving a first operating characteristic of the motor; a second modehaving a second operating characteristic of the motor different from thefirst operating characteristic; and a third mode in which the motorautomatically transitions from one of the first mode and the second modeto the other of the first mode and the second mode without further userinput.
 12. A method of controlling a personal care appliance comprisingan electric motor having a drive shaft and a control circuit comprising,in operable cooperation, a user interface, a processor, a pulse widthmodulation signal generator, a memory unit, and a power source, thecontrol circuit operably coupled to the electric motor, the methodcomprising: generating, with the control circuit, a voltage signalhaving a frequency and a duty cycle; supplying the voltage signal to theelectric motor to oscillate the drive shaft in an oscillatory motionhaving an oscillation amplitude; and the control circuit varying thefrequency and the duty cycle of the voltage signal in response to anoscillation adjustment input received from the user interface so thatthe oscillation amplitude of the drive shaft is varied along asubstantially linear rate of change profile relative to the frequency.13. A personal care appliance comprising: an electric motor having adrive shaft, the electric motor configured to, in response to a voltagesignal, oscillate the drive shaft in an oscillatory motion having anoscillation amplitude; and a control circuit comprising, in operablecooperation, a user interface, a pulse width modulation signalgenerator, a processor, a memory unit, and a power source, the controlcircuit operably coupled to the electric motor and configured to supplythe voltage signal to the electric motor, the voltage signal having afrequency and a duty cycle, the control circuit configured to: operatethe electric motor in accordance with a selected one of the first modeor the second mode in response to a mode selection input from the userinterface; wherein when the first mode is selected, the frequency and/orthe duty cycle of the voltage signal is varied in response to anoscillation adjustment input received from the user interface so thatthe oscillation amplitude of the drive shaft is varied along a firstrate of change profile relative to the frequency in the first mode; andwherein when the second mode is selected, the frequency and/or the dutycycle of the voltage signal is varied in response to the oscillationadjustment input received from the user interface so that theoscillation amplitude of the drive shaft is varied along a second rateof change profile relative to the frequency in the second mode, thefirst and second rate of change profiles being different than oneanother.
 14. The personal care appliance according to claim 13 whereinthe first and second rate of change profiles have different averagerates of change from one another.
 15. The personal care applianceaccording to claim 13 wherein each of the first rate of change profileand the second rate of change profile is substantially linear.
 16. Thepersonal care appliance according to claim 15 wherein the first rate ofchange profile has a first slope and the second rate of change profilehas a second slope that is different than the first slope.
 17. Thepersonal care appliance according to claim 13 further comprising: thefirst rate of change profile having: (i) a first starting pointcorresponding to a first minimum frequency and a first minimumoscillation amplitude for the first mode; and (ii) a first endpointcorresponding to a first maximum frequency and a first maximumoscillation amplitude for the first mode; and the second rate of changeprofile having: (i) a second starting point corresponding to a secondminimum frequency and a second minimum oscillation amplitude for thesecond mode; and (ii) a second endpoint corresponding to a secondmaximum frequency and a second maximum oscillation amplitude for thesecond mode; wherein the second minimum frequency is greater than thefirst maximum frequency and the second minimum oscillation amplitude isgreater than the first maximum oscillation amplitude.
 18. The personalcare appliance according to claim 17 wherein a difference between thefirst maximum oscillation amplitude and the first minimum oscillationamplitude is less than a difference between the second maximumoscillation amplitude and the second minimum oscillation amplitude. 19.The personal care appliance according to claim 13 wherein the controlcircuit is further configured to: (i) vary the duty cycle of the voltagesignal along a first non-linear rate of change profile relative to thefrequency of the voltage signal when varying the oscillation amplitudeof the drive shaft along the first rate of change profile in the firstmode; and (ii) vary the duty cycle of the voltage signal along a secondnon-linear rate of change profile relative to the frequency of thevoltage signal when varying the oscillation amplitude of the drive shaftalong the second rate of change profile in the second mode.
 20. Thepersonal care appliance according to claim 19 further comprising: eachof the first and second non-linear rate of change profiles comprises:(1) a first section corresponding to a first range of the frequency; (2)a second section corresponding to a second range of the frequency; and(3) a third section corresponding to a third range of the frequency, thesecond range of the frequency located between the first and third rangesof the frequency and greater than the first range of the frequency; thefirst section of the first non-linear rate of change profile having anaverage rate of change that is less than an average rate of change ofthe third section of the first non-linear rate; and the first section ofthe second non-linear rate of change profile having an average rate ofchange that is greater than an average rate of change of the thirdsection of the second non-linear rate
 21. (canceled)
 22. (canceled) 23.The personal care appliance according to claim 13 further comprising: aworkpiece; and a handle comprising a gripping portion having a distalend and a stem protruding from the distal end, the stem operably coupledto the drive shaft so that the oscillatory motion of the drive shaft isimparted to the stem, the stem configured for detachable coupling withthe workpiece, wherein the stem imparts the oscillatory motion to theworkpiece.
 24. The personal care appliance according to claim 23 whereinthe workpiece is a refill toothbrush head.
 25. The personal careappliance according to claim 13: wherein the user interface isconfigured to receive from a user a selection from among a plurality ofmodes, the plurality of modes comprising: the first mode having a firstoperating characteristic of the motor; the second mode having a secondoperating characteristic of the motor different from the first operatingcharacteristic; and a third mode in which the motor automaticallytransitions from one of the first mode and the second mode to the otherof the first mode and the second mode without further user input. 26-38.(canceled)